Rd Mochtar | |
|---|---|
 Mochtar in Siti Akbari (1940) | |
| Born | 31 May 1918 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1935–1991 |
| Notable work | |
Hajji Raden Mochtar (born 31 May 1918), often credited as Rd Mochtar, was an Indonesian actor. Of noble descent, Mochtar was discovered by Albert Balink and first cast in the commercial failure Pareh (1936). Rising to popularity after the release of Terang Boelan the following year, he spent nearly sixty years in film, while also becoming a businessman and farmer.
Mochtar was born in Cianjur, West Java, on 31 May 1918. [1] He was a Javanese of priyayi (noble) descent. He had a brother, Rd. Kosasih, an actor, and R. Sujetti Djuariah (born 1926), an actress. [2] Mochtar did his elementary school studies at a Taman Siswa school in Bandung. [1]
In 1935 Mochtar was cast in the leading role of Mahmud in Albert Balink's film Pareh . Balink was out with coffee with Joshua and Othniel Wong and saw Mochtar, whom he considered tall, strong, and handsome, driving by. Balink and the Wongs chased Mochtar in their car and caught him. For the film Mochtar was told to use the title Raden, which he and his family had already abandoned. [3] According to the Indonesian anthropologist Albertus Budi Susanto, the emphasis on Mochtar's title was meant as a way to draw a higher-class audience. [4] The film, which cost 75,000 gulden to produce, was a commercial failure. [5] However, it was financially beneficial for Mochtar, who was paid a monthly retainer of 250 gulden. [6]
Balink recalled Mochtar for his next film, Terang Boelan (Full Moon), in 1937. Although the role called for Mochtar to sing he was unable to do so. As such, the composer Ismail Marzuki was called to provide Mochtar's singing voice. The film was a commercial success, garnering over 200,000 Singapore dollars during its international release. [7] This led to Mochtar becoming a bankable star and often playing alongside Roekiah. The film also played a role in the establishment of a star system in the country's cinema. [1] Soon after the release of Terang Boelan Mochtar married the actress Soekarsih (b. 1918), whom he had met on the set of Pareh. [8]
After the success of Terang Boelan and Balink's emigration to the United States, most of the cast – including Mochtar – were signed with Tan's Film. Mochtar's first film with the company, Fatima (1938), was a commercial success, earning 200,000 gulden on a 7,000 gulden budget. [9] After making several further films, by 1940 Mochtar had left Tan's over a wage dispute. He made a further three films with Yo Kim Tjan's Populair Films before transferring to Action Film. [10]
During the Japanese occupation (1942–1945) and ensuing four-year revolution, Mochtar acted in several theatrical groups, including Terang Boelan, Bintang Soerabaja, and Pantai Warna. As the Indonesian film industry gained steam during the 1950s, Mochtar continued acting. Aside from Indonesian films, he also had a role in Rodrigo de Villa , by the Philippine company LVN Pictures. [1]
In the late 1950s the local film industry ebbed and Mochtar became a businessman, then later a farmer. In the mid-1960s he went on the hajj to Mecca, and in the 1970s he began acting again. During this period he received awards from both the West Javan and Jakartan governments for his acting. [1] He continued to be active in film until 1991. [11]
Mochtar appeared in 69 films spanning a period of almost sixty years, [11] as follows:
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Pareh, released internationally as Pareh, Song of the Rice, is a 1936 film from the Dutch East Indies. Directed by the Dutchmen Albert Balink and Mannus Franken, it featured an amateur native cast and starred Raden Mochtar and Soekarsih. The story follows the forbidden love between a fisherman and a farmer's daughter.
Albert Balink was a Dutch journalist and filmmaker who contributed to early Indonesian cinema. Born in the Netherlands, he began a career in film journalism in the Dutch East Indies. A self-taught filmmaker, in the mid-1930s, he released a documentary and two feature films, before immigrating to the United States and resuming his journalistic career.
Java Pacific Film was a short-lived film production company that helped make significant contributions to Indonesian cinema in the 1930s.
Terang Boelan is a 1937 film from the Dutch East Indies. Written by Saeroen, directed by Albert Balink, and starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah and Eddie T. Effendi, Terang Boelan follows two lovers who elope after one is almost forced to marry an opium smuggler. The film was shot in the Indies and Singapore, and was partially inspired by the 1936 Hollywood film The Jungle Princess. It was aimed at native audiences and included keroncong music, which was popular at the time, and several actors from Balink's previous work Pareh (1936).
Roekiah, often credited as Miss Roekiah, was an Indonesian kroncong singer and actress. The daughter of two stage performers, she began her career at the age of seven; by 1932 she had become well known in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, as a singer and stage actress. Around this time she met Kartolo, whom she married in 1934. The two acted in the 1937 hit film Terang Boelan, in which Roekiah and Rd Mochtar played young lovers.
The Wong brothers were three ethnic Chinese film directors and cameramen active in the cinema of the Dutch East Indies. The sons of an Adventist preacher, the brothers – Nelson (1895–1945), Joshua (1906–1981), and Othniel (1908–1986) – received much of their education in the United States before going to Shanghai and establishing The Great Wall Productions.
Saeroen was an Indonesian journalist and screenwriter. Born in Yogyakarta, he became a journalist after a time working at a railway station. By the mid-1930s he had established the daily Pemandangan with Oene Djunaedi and was writing editorials with the pen name Kampret. When the paper was dissolved, Saeroen drifted into the film industry as a writer, making his debut with Albert Balink's Terang Boelan (1937). Much of his later life was spent working with several minor publications.
Rentjong Atjeh is a 1940 action film from the Dutch East Indies directed by The Teng Chun. Telling of a group who take revenge against pirates in the Strait of Malacca, it starred Ferry Kock, Dewi Mada, Bissoe, Mohammad Mochtar, and Hadidjah. It was filmed near the shore in Batavia and reused footage from The's earlier work Alang-Alang (1939). Rentjong Atjeh, inspired in part by the Tarzan films, was a commercial success, although it may now be lost.
Roekihati is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies. Directed by the brothers Joshua and Othniel Wong and produced by Tan's Film, it follows a young village woman who goes to the city and encounters various difficulties. Targeted at lower-class audiences, it was shot in black-and-white and starred Roekiah and Raden Djoemala.
Raden Mas Kartolo was an Indonesian actor and songwriter. Born in Yogyakarta to a noble family, he entered the theatre and married the actress Roekiah around 1933. The two, living in Batavia acted in numerous movies together, starting with the 1938 hit Terang Boelan. However, Roekiah was always cast with other actors as her romantic interest. After Roekiah died in 1945, Kartolo brought the family to Yogyakarta and worked with Radio Republik Indonesia until his death. One of his sons, Rachmat Kartolo, went on to be an actor in the 1960s and 1970s.
Roestam Sutan Palindih was an Indonesian film director and writer. He was born in Fort de Kock, Dutch East Indies in 1898. He finished his education in various cities, including Batavia, Bandung, Padang, and Medan. In the 1920s and 30s Rustam held a variety of jobs, including as the owner of a small shop and a farmer. He eventually became involved with the journalistic and literary industries, working at Balai Pustaka and heading the newspaper Neratja. From 1933 until 1938 he was a member of a native political council, vocally opposing the Dutch colonial presence in the Indies.
Siti Akbari is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong and produced by Tan Khoen Yauw. Starring Roekiah and Rd Mochtar, it follows a couple while the husband commits adultery.
Sam Pek Eng Tay is a 1931 film directed and produced by The Teng Chun and released in the Dutch East Indies. It is based on the Chinese legend The Butterfly Lovers, which follows the doomed love between a rich girl and a commoner boy. The film was a commercial success, inspiring The Teng Chun to direct several further films based on Chinese mythology. The name derives from the given names of the legend's two main characters, Liang Shanbo (梁山伯) and Zhu Yingtai (祝英台).
Fatima is a 1938 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Othniel and Joshua Wong. Written by Saeroen, it starred Roekiah, Rd Mochtar, and ET Effendi and followed two lovers who are disturbed by a rich youth. The film followed the same formula as the earlier hit Terang Boelan, and saw commercial success domestically. It is one of three films which Misbach Yusa Biran credits with reviving the domestic film industry, which had been faltering.
Gagak Item is a 1939 bandit film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong for Tan's Film. Starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah, and Eddy T. Effendi, it follows a masked man known only as "Gagak Item". The black-and-white film, which featured the cast and crew from the 1937 hit Terang Boelan, was a commercial success and received positive reviews upon release. It is likely lost.
Matjan Berbisik is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies which was directed by Tan Tjoei Hock and produced by The Teng Chun. Starring Hadidjah and Mohamad Mochtar, the film follows two men who are raised as brothers and compete for the love of the same woman. A copy of the black-and-white film, which featured keroncong music, is stored at Sinematek Indonesia.
Sorga Ka Toedjoe is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong for Tan's Film. It follows an older couple who are reunited by another, younger couple after years of separation. The black-and-white film, the first production by Tan's Film after the departure of Rd Mochtar, featured kroncong music and was targeted at lower-class native audiences. It was a commercial and critical success. Roekiah and Djoemala took leading roles in three more films before Tan's closed in 1942. Sorga Ka Toedjoe is now thought lost.
Ismail Djoemala was an Indonesian actor active in the 1940s. He was often cast alongside Roekiah as her romantic interest.
Bengawan Solo is a now-lost 1949 film from what is now Indonesia. Directed by Jo An Djan, it starred Sofia WD, Rd Mochtar, and Mohamad Mochtar.
Mohamad Mochtar, usually credited as Moh Mochtar, was an Indonesian film actor active from 1939 until his death in 1981.
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